The Minor Leaguer
by happy45
Summary: So how did Aaron and Emily know each other before they started working together in the White House? /3 PARTS/
1. Boarding School

**It appears I have a bit of a writing bug for Emily and Aaron right now. I just love them together! I hope you enjoy this story which will see some moments Aaron and Emily shared before the worked together in the White House, from boarding school, college and working in Washington.**

* * *

 **So how did Aaron and Emily know each other before they started working together in the White House? /3 PARTS/**

* * *

Boarding School

16-year-old Emily Rhodes walked into her dorm room after making a trip to the bathroom. She had been back at school for almost a week now and was exhausted already, attending one of the most prestigious schools in Washington would do that to a girl. Ever since Emily had shown political aspirations, her parents sent her to school in Washington, right in the heart of it all, to give her the best start, and she couldn't be more thankful. While she never saw herself as a politician, she could see herself as an adviser of sorts.

Emily tied her hair up into a quick and messy ponytail and pulled back the covers of her bed. Before she could climb in, however, her two roommates burst through the door with excited looks on their faces.

"Emily Rhodes whatever you do, do not get into that bed." Vivienne warned with a raised eyebrow and a pointed finger.

Emily sighed; "Viv, I get that the concept of class in the morning is foreign to you, but some of us actually intend on being there and therefore need a good night's sleep..." she said putting her hands on her hips with a light smile.

"Em, we love you and all your nerdy nature but tonight is not the night to be getting into bed at 9pm." Emily's second roommate Lenny warned.

"Lenny..." Emily said with a groan and they both leaped forward and pulled her towards the wardrobe.

"We just scored ourselves an invite to a senior party!" Vivienne said with a shriek.

"On a Thursday?" Emily asked as Vivienne began rummaging through her clothes to pick her something to wear as Lenny pulled the hair bobble out of her hair and began fixing it.

"It's the first week of school, the one week in the year where the adults overlook what is right under their noses before the hard work kicks in." Lenny reminded her. "Or they're just really dumb and don't realise what's going on right under their noses..."

"How did you get invited?" Emily asked as Vivienne throw some clothes at her to put on.

"I locked eyes with one of the guys on the football team at practice this afternoon, clearly he thought I was worth having there and he told me to bring whoever I wanted." Vivienne said with a giggle.

"And I take it you're not going to take no for an answer?" Emily said as she fixed her appearance in the mirror.

"Absolutely not." Lenny said. "Let's go, it's already started!" she said as the girls dragged a reluctant Emily out the door.

* * *

A few minutes later, the girls opened the door to the senior boy's dorm of who was throwing the party. They looked round in awe at the size of the room. They had their own lounge, bathroom, kitchen area, then three bedrooms off to the side.

"Damn..." Vivienne said as the three friends looked around the dorm in awe.

"Looks like somebody's daddy was feeling generous" Lenny added.

"Hey George, look who's here!" they heard a guy say as he and his friend George walked towards them.

Vivienne's face instantly lit up, indicating that this was the boy she met at football practice.

"Glad you girls could make it" George said. "I'm George, this is Warner" he introduced. "We live here along with our friend Aaron who has vanished..."

"Probably with Melissa" Warner said with a shrug.

"No, he's definitely moved onto bigger and better things than Melissa." George said in disagreement. "Oh, wait there he is, Aaron! Come over here." George said, waving his friend over.

Aaron walked over and instantly locked eyes with Emily. He gave her a small smile which she returned as she shifted awkwardly in her position. This guy was insanely hot with his curly hair and tall physique. Aaron thought the same about her, she was beautiful.

"This is Aaron Shore, our chaperone for the evening." Warner said as Aaron pushed him slightly.

"Watch it Shapiro." Aaron warned.

"Aaron here is just a little less fun than us, he wanted to cancel the party altogether because he had an early morning class..." Warner explained.

"Oh, that's funny, Emily didn't want to come either because she has an early morning class!" Lenny said, getting a glare from Emily. "I'm Eleanor by the way, but everyone calls me Lenny, this is Vivienne and Emily." Lenny introduced.

"Well it's nice to meet you guys" Aaron said, not taking his eyes off Emily. She looked uncomfortable, like she didn't want to be there, like she didn't know her place, she was a curiosity.

"Enjoy the party" Aaron said as he walked off in the other direction with his drink, immediately bombarded by a girl. Emily rolled her eyes, immediately judging that daddy's money got him here and he was the typical jock. But he did want to be in bed for early morning class...

"Yeah so that's Aaron. I swear he's fun, he just hasn't quite got the concept that senior year is supposed to be the most fun year of all!" George said loudly as everyone around him whooped and cheered.

"Can I get you ladies a drink?" Warner asked as he held his arm out for Vivienne. Vivienne smirked and looped her arm through his.

"Absolutely." She replied as they walked through the mass of people towards the drinks, with George and Lenny quickly on their tail.

Emily held back unsure what to do in that moment. She had never been a partier, she always had her mind set on her future in this place and relied largely on Vivienne and Lenny to make sure she didn't take life too seriously. She twiddled her thumbs for a few moments before deciding to venture forth into the party.

* * *

An hour or so later, more and more people had arrived and the place was getting cramped. Vivienne and Lenny appeared to be having the time of their lives, but Emily had had enough. She pushed her way through the crowd and towards the door, she quickly opened and rushed out and as she looked back, she ran straight into a tall and towering figure.

"Oh, I'm sor...ry..." Emily said as she looked up and realised it was the guy from earlier, the guy who lived in the dorm. Aaron.

"Emily, right?" he asked as she nodded. "I'm Aaron"

"I know" she replied quickly before cursing herself for sounding obnoxious yet keen.

Aaron chuckled; "Had enough of the party?" he asked.

"I just needed some air." she said as she leant against the wall and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "What about you?"

"Ice" he said holding up two bags. "Would hate for Warner's drinks to get cold"

"Right" Emily said, thinking she should have seen the bags. "So, is this what senior year is going to be like for you? Constant parties in your dorms?"

"God, I hope not. Some nights will substitute parties for pranks" Aaron said with a smirk as Emily returned it with a roll of her eyes. "Warner and George will settle down, they're just excited about it being senior year. They actually do care about their studies believe it or not." Aaron said on a more serious note.

"Well you kinda have to be if you go here." Emily said, pointing out the obvious. "Unless daddy will be able to buy you guys out of trouble. Maybe even your high school diplomas. I mean, you can afford the best dorm on campus. Or maybe football will keep you in business, quarterback, right?" Emily said, immediately passing judgement.

Aaron scoffed lightly as he looked down at the feisty girl in front of him. She had completely stepped away from the intimidated girl who had first entered the party and towards a judgy one who appeared to be determined to get to the bottom of Aaron Shore.

"Yeah football will keep me afloat... considering it's part of my scholarship" Aaron told her.

Emily stood up straighter; "you're a scholarship kid?" she asked.

"Well when you put it like that you make me sound like scum of the earth" he said with a light laugh. "Yeah, I'm from a small town in Texas, this isn't really the sort of place my parents could afford. I got here on an academic and football scholarship and as for the room... George's family own it so I don't pay a dime for it. An old alumni thing." Aaron explained.

Emily nodded her head; "You chose your friends wisely."

"More like they chose me wisely. They felt a need to take the new, poor kid under their wing."

"Right..." Emily said. She took a breath and closed her eyes for a moment; "I'm sorry if you thought I was judging you. I mean... I kinda was but I didn't mean to and I was wrong and... I'm sorry." she said in a ramble.

"It's cool but... just because I'm a poor little scholarship boy doesn't mean I'm not a dick." he joked.

Emily nodded; "Yeah I guess the jury's still out on that one."

"So, what about you? I'm guessing daddy's money didn't get you here either?" Aaron asked leaning against the wall as he faced her, completely forgetting about the ice he was supposed to deliver as he set it on the ground.

"Uh… my grandparent's money. My parents saw that I had some political aspirations so they made it work and my grandparents were more than willing to help." Emily explained.

"You want to be a politician?" Aaron asked.

"No, I see myself as more of an adviser." Emily explained.

"So, like the chief of staff in the White House?"

"Well that sort of role but not necessarily that one" Emily said.

"You don't want to get to the White House? I don't think anymore here who has political aspirations doesn't have the goal of getting to the White House." Aaron said surprised at his choice.

"I just want to be in a position that makes a difference. Change can happen at all levels of government; the president doesn't control everything." Emily argued, growing frustrated that he didn't get her position.

"If you want to get anywhere in this town you're going to have to be a little more ambitious, this is the big leagues and you cannot be a minor leaguer like you clearly are now." Aaron challenged.

Emily's eyes narrowed, her posture stiffened and her arms folded. " _Minor leaguer?_ Did you just call me a _minor leaguer?"_

"I believe I did yeah" Aaron said, knowing he had pushed a button

"You don't even know me, you don't know what I can do."

"You don't know whether I'm a dick or not, I don't know whether you can make it in Washington. I guess we'll have to find out." Aaron said with a smirk.

"Well I can tell you now, things are not going in your favour." Emily said harshly and before Aaron could reply, Lenny and Vivienne came out.

"Hey! We've been looking for you!" Vivienne said. "We should have guessed you'd be out here with this hottie, you're so rouge Em." She teased.

"I was just leaving" Emily said as she pushed passed Aaron and down the corridor.

"I guess that's our cue too… see you around Aaron!" Lenny said as she and Vivienne quickly went after her, immediately seeing that Emily had a face like thunder.

"See you. Hey Emily? Watch out for those pranks this year. You just might find yourself as a target." Aaron warned as Emily glared further and stormed away.

"Ok what happened?" Vivienne asked as they quickly made their way out of the building.

"He thinks that I'm a _minor leaguer."_ Emily said through her teeth

"No way! You are not a minor leaguer… wait, what does that mean exactly?" Lenny asked.

"He doesn't think I have what it takes to make it in Washington. What does he know anyway? He's an immature 18-year-old kid who has had everything handed to him because he has rich friends and a flare for football!" Emily ranted

"I'm pretty sure he's top of his class but you know…" Vivienne pointed out, everyone knowing that Aaron Shore had everything.

"Oh whatever!" Emily said as they quickly walked into their room. "And what's this whole, 'you'll be a target for pranks' thing, is he trying to make me think he's a dick? Well he can also watch his back because I am no minor leaguer, I grew up with three older brothers, I know pranks, I can take pranks and I can dish them out." Emily said as she paced in front of her friends who both had concerned looks on their faces.

"My God he has really hit a nerve with you" Lenny noted as she put her hands on her hips. "I've never seen you like this before."

Emily sighed and ran a hand across her forehead; "I just don't like being told that I can't do something."

Vivienne smirked and wrapped her arm around her friend; "She knew she could so she did Emily. She knew she could so she did."

* * *

Over the next few days, the girls had been on high alert for any pranks coming their way. They were paranoid and knew it would be unlikely that they would evade them, but they also were prepared to play a few tricks of their own. They didn't think it was fair that the seniors got to have all the fun.

The following Tuesday evening, the girls were getting ready to go and play basketball with some friends, when Lenny opened the closet and realised that something was off. She rummaged around in the bottom for a while before turning back to the girls.

"Uh… do you guys know where all of our shoes have gone?" Lenny asked as Emily and Vivienne eyed her with confused looks.

They both walked over to the closet and looked inside and saw that all their shoes had gone.

"Where the hell have our shoes gone?!" Vivienne exclaimed.

"They took them" Emily said with a groan. "They actually took our shoes!"

"Yeah remind me to make sure our door is locked from now on." Lenny said as she scrunched up her face in annoyance.

"I don't think that would matter, something tells me they would know how to get in anyway." Emily said as her phone buzzed. She took her phone out of her pocket and saw that she had a message from Aaron.

 _Missing something?_

Emily sighed and typed back a response; _I think you already know the answer to that. Care to help our search?_

 _Not much of a search. Look out your window._

Emily furrowed her eyebrows as she showed the girls the message. They walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains and their mouths fell open.

"Oh… my… god." They all blurted out at the same time.

Their shoes were lined neatly across the roof beam of the opposite building, a few were even tied around the top of the lamp posts that lit up the central courtyard.

"Are you freakin kidding me?!" Vivienne exclaimed.

"Stay calm Viv" Emily told her.

"How can I stay calm?! They _stole_ our _shoes_ and _hid them_ on the _roof."_ Vivienne said with a clenched jaw.

Emily nodded; "Yeah… but if they want to steal our stuff… then they're going to get a taste of their own medicine." She finished with a smirk as her two friends eyed her with suspicious glares.

* * *

The following day, Aaron, Warner and George arrived back in their dorm after class. Aaron collapsed on the sofa as Warner went into the kitchen to get them a soda.

"Hey, George, do you have that tie I lent you a few weeks ago for that party your parents dragged you to?" Warner asked; "I need it for the party that _my_ parents are now dragging me to." He finished with a sigh as he chucked Aaron a soda and shrunk down into the chair beside him.

"Yeah I should do" George said as she went into his room.

Aaron chuckled; "Oh to be a part of the political elite."

"You're lucky, you get all the benefits of being from a rich political family, without the family part, by being friends with us." Warner said. "Don't you ever take us for granted."

Aaron laughed; "Aw Warner I could never take you for granted."

"Uh guys?" George said as he came back into the room. "All my underwear is gone."

"Not the Calvin Kleins!" Aaron joked as Warner laughed along.

"I'm not kidding, check your drawers" George said as Aaron and Warner rolled their eyes and walked into their rooms.

Aaron opened his drawer and saw that it was completely empty. He checked the other drawers and his underwear was nowhere to be found. He walked back into the living area.

"Yeah mine are gone. Yours?" He asked Warner.

"Gone. Looks like someone thought they could test the pranking masters…." Warner said folding his arms.

"But stealing our underwear? It's a little amateurish don't you think?" George asked.

"Yeah… like they're in the minor league…" Aaron said absentmindedly. He lifted out his phone, knowing exactly who was responsible.

 _Stealing our underwear? Are you trying to prove you're a minor leaguer?_ He typed.

 _You're right, stealing underwear is a minor league prank… good thing I'm not a minor leaguer._

Aaron furrowed his eyebrows; "Guys… I don't think stealing out underwear is all that they've done…"

"What do you mean?" Warner asked.

Aaron furiously typed his reply; _Care to elaborate?_

 _You might want to check the freezer in the campus kitchen_.

2 minutes later the boys were running through the kitchen and into the freezer. They opened the large door and their mouth fell open when they saw what was in front of them. Their underwear, frozen in a block of ice.

"You have got to be kidding me." George said as they stood there, unsure what to do.

"That is one big block of ice…" Warner commented.

"Yeah I think we're going to need a wheelbarrow" George said as they turned to walk away.

"And some bigger pranks." Aaron added as they left the kitchen to find something to transport the block of ice.

After half an hour of trying to lift the ice, they finally managed to get it into the little trailer they found and began dragging it through campus, much to everyone's bemusement. Just before they arrived at their building, they walked past Emily, Vivienne and Lenny who had bright smiles on their faces.

"Well… that is a problem…" Vivienne said as she pulled a sarcastically sympathetic smile.

"This was a good effort guys, really good, but with our reputations on the line like this, we're really going to have to pull out the big guns." Warner said, ready to pull the best pranks yet.

"We look forward to it, greatly." Lenny said with a smirk as they walked on.

"I hope you're ready… _minor leaguer."_ Aaron said as Emily shook her head and walked away.

* * *

Emily was sitting in her bed the following day doing some homework, when she saw a note slipped through the door. She immediately got up and opened it.

 _Sports center. 1am. Bring your best game minor leaguer._

Emily scoffed, wondering what the boys had been planning. But no matter what it was she and the girls would be ready.

As the clock approached 1am, Emily, Vivienne and Lenny made their way to the sports center, ready to face what was coming. They had no idea what it could be, but they were ready to hatch their own plan. Emily sent Vivienne to the shop nearby to build up a supply of flour, eggs and honey.

Emily knew this was juvenile, she knew this prank war should be the last thing on her mind, but she had never had this much fun and was not about to give up now.

The girls wore all black as they snuck into the already unlocked building, signaling that the boys were already there.

"Ok they're probably already here, be on the lookout guys" Emily warned as they walked forward.

"Uh…. I think I know where they are" Vivienne said as she pointed to the entrance of the pool where the light was coming from.

Emily nodded and smirked; "Well, then let's take the bait."

Lenny and Vivienne looked at her with wide eyes and she walked into the swimming pool.

"Emily! Get back here! We need to make a team decision and walking into the lion's den is not a team decision!" Lenny shouted in a whisper, but Emily ignored her and went on ahead.

Lenny and Vivienne looked at each other before sighing and following their friend through.

They looked around the pool, not seeing anyone, but they all knew that it was too quiet. They stood at the top of the pool and dropped their bags, trying to think what they could be trying to pull.

"What is their game?" Emily mumbled as she looked around her. Before anyone could say anything else, they all felt a tap on their shoulders and they all turned around.

They came face to face with the three boys who were all smirking at them.

"Ladies" George greeted.

"Making yourself known… what's your game?" Vivienne asked as she folded her arms.

"Simple… we're using your game against you." Warner said as the girls furrowed their eyebrows.

The three boys lifted the girls bags and smirked when they saw what was inside them;

"Just as we thought." Aaron said as Emily reached out for the bag. He quickly stopped her and smiled wider. "Have a nice swim!" he said as the three boys pushed the girls backwards and they fell straight into the pool. They dashed out the door, just as they came up for air.

"I'm going to kill them!" Lenny shouted as they bobbed in the water.

"Well then go after them! Go!" Emily said as they all rushed out the door and after the boys.

As soon as they ran into the hallways they were hit with flour, eggs and honey. _Using their own game against them._ As the girls screamed and tried to avoid being hit, the boys dashed off in various directions. As soon as the girls got their bearings again, they had dashed off in pursuit of the boys.

Emily quickly walked through the corridors, ready to slap Aaron silly for making such a mess on them. Suddenly, she was pulled by the arm, straight into a closet. When she regained her balance, she looked up and saw Aaron smirking at her under the faint light above.

"Hey!" He greeted happily.

"God, you are the worst!" Emily said pushing him, causing some toilet papers to fall around him.

"Hey, you're the one who brought the flour and eggs and honey." Aaron said holding up his hands and he walked closer to Emily again. There was barely any room in the closet and their chests were mere centimeters from each other and their faces just as close.

"You could have just chucked us in the pool!"

"That is a prank worthy of a minor leaguer, and I am no minor leaguer. Unlike you, who stupidly let their stuff get taken."

"How did you know we had all this stuff?"

"We've got eyes and ears everywhere…" Aaron teased as Emily glared; "I'm kidding, Warner saw Vivienne at the shop. You should really be a little bit better at covering your tracks."

"I suppose you think you're really clever huh?"

"Oh, I _know_ I'm really clever, just like you should know by now that you're a minor leaguer, but don't worry, you'll learn." Aaron said, looking down at Emily's lips. She frustrated the crap out of him, there was no doubt about that, but in that moment, there was nothing more that he wanted to do than kiss her.

Emily smirked, catching Aaron looking at her lips. She leaned forward and teased him as they were a breath away from their lips making contact.

"Hm… you're right… you are pretty clever…" Emily said as she paused before closing the gap. "But I'm no minor leaguer."

And with that, Emily took the two eggs from her pocket, and smashed them against Aaron's perfect curls and stood back. Aaron stood in shock as the egg ran down his face.

"Always keep your guard up Shore. You never know who might slip past. Goodnight Aaron." Emily said as she smugly left the closet. She may not have gotten him in the same scale that he got her, but that one moment of victory was enough to prove Aaron that just maybe, he was wrong.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review!**


	2. College

College

19-year-old Emily Rhodes walked into Georgetown football stadium that evening with Lenny and Vivienne. It was the first game of the season and the whole school had come out to support the team as they kicked off the year. Emily had loved living in the heart of Washington for school so much that for her, it was a no brainer that she would go to Georgetown. She felt like she never wanted to leave this place. With her two best friends at her side, she felt like the world was her oyster and she was excited for this next phase.

"It's buzzing here!" Lenny commented with an excitement in her voice as they made their way to the bleachers.

They managed to find seats near the front as they happily took in the buzz of people around them. It was this kind of atmosphere that made Emily excited to start college. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, Emily hadn't been known as one for fun. She wasn't boring, but she took her future more seriously than others. In her junior year of high school, however, a certain curly haired Texan managed to find the spirit in her. He found the girl who grew up with three brothers and she had a lot of fun. She smirked at the thought of Aaron Shore. She hadn't seen him in two years, since he departed for college. She didn't even know where he decided to go, they were always too busy playing tricks on each other or insulting each other to have a meaningful conversation. Despite all that, Emily was ready to embrace college and to have fun before all the hard work kicked in.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a large horn sounded and the team ran onto the pitch, causing uproar among the stands. Amongst all the cheering, Emily could hear the commentator running through the team names, names that meant nothing to her, right up until…

"…. And leading the team tonight is number 13, quarterback Aaron Shore!" the commentator announced as people cheered even louder than before.

Emily saw as Aaron smirked to everyone in the bleacher and winked at the cheerleaders in front of him. It appeared he was the same, charming Aaron as before.

"You have got to be kidding me." Emily mumbled under her breath as she watched Aaron run across the field to his team.

"What?" Vivienne asked.

"It's Aaron Shore!" Emily said, not understand why this was a little surprising.

"Did you seriously not know he goes here?" Lenny asked.

"How was I supposed to know?!" Emily exclaimed.

"Well that's true, you spent majority of our junior year at each other's throats." Vivienne reminded them all. "You look a little flustered Em… you ok that he's here?"

Emily shot Vivienne a glare. "Of course I am fine that he's here I just- I'm not in the mood for his stupid games."

"You love stupid games!" Lenny exclaimed.

"No, I don't!" Emily defended.

"Look, we all know you have your differences, but you're mature college kids now, you can at least pretend to get along." Vivienne said.

"I wouldn't exactly put mature and college in the same sentence…" Emily mumbled as everyone sat back down.

Just as the game was about to start, Aaron looked up at the bleachers and froze when he saw her sitting there. A few seconds later they locked eyes and Aaron could see the fire in hers. _Same old Emily._ He thought as he smiled before lowering his head and walking onto the field. This year was going to be interesting.

Four quarters later Georgetown had won their match and the whole stadium was buzzing. People were singing and chanting and banging drums as they left and Emily couldn't help but smile at everything around her. There was something about the new-found independence of college that appealed to Emily over school life.

Vivienne and Lenny managed to find some old friends from their prep school days and had wandered off with them, so Emily decided that she would make her own way home. As she walked she fiddled with her keys in her hands and she didn't make it very far before she heard an all too familiar voice behind her.

"Hey minor-leaguer!" the voice said as Emily froze and took a deep breath before turning on her heels to face a smirking Aaron.

His hair was tossed from wearing his helmet and he was dressed in some Georgetown track clothes. He looked effortlessly hot but Emily quickly shook those thoughts from her head.

"Well if it isn't the quarterback" Emily said. "That was a good game."

"Thanks, it helps that I had my biggest fan there tonight." He teased as Emily rolled her eyes. "Are you stalking me? I mean first you come to my high school and then you come to my college and then to my football game?"

Emily narrowed her eyes; "don't flatter yourself."

Aaron chuckled as he watched Emily fold her arms. She was as pretty as he remembered and as feisty as he remembered. The light but cold breeze of the evening had caused her cheeks and the tip of her nose to turn red and she looked adorable. But he would never think of telling Emily Rhodes such a thing. She thought he was the devil and she wasn't the easiest of souls to get along with.

"So, you're a freshman… couldn't stay away from Washington huh?" Aaron asked as he fixed his gym bag on his shoulder.

"It's my favourite place on Earth." Emily said with a small smile. "Right in the heart of it all."

"Yeah I get that" Aaron said sincerely.

"So, it appears that you are a pretty big deal around here. People were loving you out there and you loved soaking up all that glory" Emily teased.

Aaron laughed; "They would love whoever the quarterback was… and I am definitely not their favourite person when we lose."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe"

"Emily Rhodes are you saying that I am the most likeable person you know?" Aaron said putting a hand on his heart.

"Those words quite literally did not come out of my mouth." Emily quickly replied.

"They might as well have"

"I'm walking away now" Emily said as Aaron laughed.

"Wait, wait, come on, I thought I taught you how to have a sense of humour?" Aaron asked as he grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Oh, I do have a sense of humour… there's just nothing humorous to laugh at right now." Emily said with a shrug.

Aaron smirked and shook his head, only a short distance away from Emily, his hand still holding her arm lightly. "You drive me crazy, you know that right?" he said quietly.

Before Emily could reply they heard a voice behind them and quickly broke apart and Aaron turned around.

"Aaron!" The voice called happily as a girl with curly blonde hair came over to them. "I've been looking everywhere for you." She said as she stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek, causing Emily to feel uncomfortable and back away slightly.

"I was just waiting around here for you" Aaron said with a smile as Emily contemplated slipping away unnoticed.

Before she could however, the girl with her hands-on Aaron's shoulders turned her attention to Emily who was standing there awkwardly.

"Hi" the girl greeted.

"Uh hi…" Emily replied with a small wave.

"Oh, this is Emily, we went to school together, she's a freshman this year" Aaron introduced. "Emily this is Jessica… my girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you" Emily said politely, wishing not to be in this situation anymore.

"Yeah you too, it's nice to finally meet some of Aaron's school friends that aren't Warner and George." Jessica said with a light laugh.

"Do Warner and George go here too?" Emily asked, missing the two boys and their antics.

"Of course they do, they follow me around like lost puppies." Aaron joked.

"And to think they were the ones who took you under their wing." Emily teased back to which Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Remind me never to tell you anything ever again, my reputation is on the line here." Aaron responded.

"Aaron, we should get going, everyone's waiting" Jessica said as Aaron nodded and turned back to Emily.

"It was good to see you Emily. I'll see you around." He said with a small smile which Emily returned before he walked away with Jessica.

When they were a safe distance from Emily, Jessica turned to Aaron to ask a question.

"So… Emily?"

"Yeah she was a couple of years below me at school."

"Did you date?"

"Oh no. No dating… we drove each other crazy, more frenemies than friends" Aaron replied.

"Right" Jessica said with a little laugh, not feeling comfortable with the way Aaron's eyes lit up when he spoke to Emily.

* * *

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Aaron and Emily ran into each other again and this time, in the library. Emily was sitting at one of the large tables reading one of her favourite books, Steinbeck's 'The Winter of our Discontent.' She was in her own little bubble and when Aaron sat in front of her, his voice made her jump.

"The Winter of Our Discontent…" he said as she sat opposite her at the table.

"You read it?" she asked, not tearing her eyes away from the book.

"Yeah it's about a man who loses his integrity and gives into temptation… which is exactly what I see you doing tonight." He said as he lent back in the chair with a smile on his face.

Emily raised an eyebrow as she peered over her book; "… what?" she asked, not sure she really wanted to know where this was going.

"We're having a party at our house tonight and you will be there." Aaron said confidently.

Emily put the book down and crossed her arms; "I can't, I have plans."

"Well they're certainly not with Vivienne and Lenny because they already told Warner they will be at the party"

Emily glared at Aaron; "I have other friends apart from Vivienne and Lenny."

"Yeah, me" He said with a closed lip smile.

"I'm not sure I would really call you a friend…"

"Ouch" Aaron said as he put a hand over his heart. "Ok I'll bite, what are your plans?"

"I wasn't throwing you a line to bite" Emily said as she stood from her seat and walked away, but Aaron was close on her tail.

"My god you are infuriating. But why so secretive about your plans?" he asked as he walked in front of her and put his arm across the door frame, barring her from getting out. "Something to hide Rhodes?"

Before Emily could reply, they were quickly shushed by the librarian, so Emily pushed Aaron outside before they caused any more of a scene.

"I'm not telling you what my plans are." She said awkwardly.

"You know, for someone who wants to go into politics, you have a terrible poker face. Yet another reason why you're a minor leaguer You should really get better at lying, these plans that you have are clearly awkward and uncomfortable for you…" Aaron pointed.

"Oh my god, stop with the minor leaguer crap already!" Emily exclaimed as she pushed past him and walked away, but yet again, Aaron was on her tail.

"Ok, from your awkwardness I am going to have to deduce that you're going on a date and before you start shouting at me again…" He said cutting her off right before she began shouting; "… bring your date to the party. Trust me, you'll have a way better time there than wherever you were planning on going!"

"… We will come for a short while." Emily said through her teeth, only agreeing to get Aaron to shut up and go away.

"Great! You know, I've missed you Emily, there is no one around here that is nearly this fun to annoy." He said with an arrogant smirk.

"Wish I could say the same about you, the last two years were a blessing."

"I know you don't really mean that… I'll see you tonight!" he said before turning and walking away.

* * *

Emily stood outside Warner, George and Aaron's house with her date, just willing herself to go inside for the party. She could see that half the college was there, so she debated just leaving now, there was no way Aaron would notice she wasn't there, he was probably too busy with Jessica anyway.

Emily's date Ben was an old family friend that Emily's mom had been trying to set her up with for years, and Emily kept resisting. He was a nice guy and he was cute, but there just was no spark. She had finally given in when her mother kept pressuring her about bringing a date to her brother Sam's wedding, so she figured Ben would be the perfect guy to bring to make her mother happy.

Before Emily could say they should just go, she spotted Vivienne eyeing her through the window, making fierce gestures for her to get inside.

"Is there a reason we're standing out here?" Ben asked with a light laugh.

Emily awkwardly returned the laugh; "Uh… no, sorry I was just taking in this house… it's really nice." Emily half lied. She was impressed by the house, but then again, she expected nothing less of the boys. They would never live in some shot apartment down town.

"Yeah it is. Who did you say these guys were again?" Ben asked as they finally started to make their way to the door.

"Just some guys I went to school wit-" Emily began, but she was interrupted when Aaron flung open the door and stood there smirking at them.

"Emily! You came" He said, pulling her inside as Ben followed.

"Convenient you were standing at the door…" she said through her teeth as she yanked her arm free of his hold.

"Vivienne said you were standing outside so I felt the need to greet my guests. Hi, Aaron Shore, and you are…?" Aaron said holding out a hand for Ben to shake which he gladly accepted.

"I'm Ben Pine. You're Aaron Shore? The quarterback? Man, my sister is in your political science class, she says your work is crazy good, you hoping to go into politics?" Ben asked as Emily rolled her eyes at Ben's apparent fan girling.

"Yeah, that's the plan. I could never see myself as a politician though, I'm more of a behind the scenes man." Aaron informed him. "Just like Emily here. Though… I'm aiming for more of the major leagues but Emily is definitely a min-"

"Ok, I think it's time we got a drink." Emily interrupted before Aaron could finish his taunting. She grabbed Ben by the wrist and pulled him through the party to find something to drink.

A short while later, Aaron was walking through the party after destroying a few guys on the team in a game of beer pong. He greeted people as he walked past, but stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Emily and Ben by the patio doors in the kitchen. They were laughing and being touchy feely. Aaron gulped. Why would this bother him? This was Emily Rhodes, she drove him crazy, she frustrated the crap out of him, why would he care who she flirted with and who she went on dates with? He was brought out with his thoughts when he heard a female voice in his ear.

"You know, jealousy doesn't suit you" she said as Aaron turned around, coming face to face with Jessica.

"…why? Are you flirting with someone I should know about?" Aaron asked.

"I'm talking about you staring at Emily. Why did you never tell her how you felt?" Jessica asked.

"I don't have feelings for Emily, I never had." Aaron said as he put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah I'm not so sure about that…. It's ok. I get it. Ever since she turned up you have most definitely been avoiding me… but you're free now to do as you please."

"Are you seriously breaking up with me?" Aaron asked, not expecting this turn of events. He liked Jessica, he really did, but it was true. He had been avoiding her, even if he refused to admit to himself why.

"Yeah. I am. I'm just pushing forward the inevitable." She said as she walked forward and kissed him on the cheek. "We had a good run and if you ever need someone to… have a little fun with… I'll be around." She said with a smirk as she walked on through the party.

Aaron stood there, a little dumbfounded at the turn of events. He wasn't quite sure how to take what Jessica said about his feelings for Emily, and he still wasn't quite sure how to take her flirting with Ben.

Half an hour later, Aaron finally plucked up the courage to go over and talk to Emily and find out more about this Ben guy.

"Hey" he said as he stood beside Emily and put his arm around her. "Are you two enjoying the party?"

"Yeah it's quite the party" Emily said with a nod of her head.

"It was all Warner and George, you know what they're like. So, Ben, what are you studying?"

"Finance." Ben replied with a smile.

"Finance? Wow… that's… interesting." Aaron said, not at all meaning a word he said. Finance? How boring. A boring degree for a boring guy. "You know, I always saw Emily going for the more exciting type. Someone to counter her boring nature."

"Aaron." Emily said in a warning tone.

"You know I single handily brought out the fun in Emily. We had this huge prank war in school, it was insane." Aaron said with a laugh as Emily's blood started to boil and Ben laughed uncomfortably. "So, how did you two meet?" he asked as he furrowed his eyebrows to demonstrate some fake sincerity.

"Ben is an old family friend" Emily said.

"Oh, so you're on a date to please your family?" Aaron asked.

"Aaron!" Emily exclaimed. "I think you've had too much to drink."

"I'm perfectly fine Emily." Aaron said with a little laugh.

"You know Emily I think I'm going to go…" Ben said as he put his cup down.

"No, Ben wait—" Emily began, but Ben cut her off.

"This was fun but uh… it's clear that you two have some unresolved stuff going on so… I'll see you around." Ben said before disappearing.

Aaron smirked behind Emily as he took a drink from his cup. He was a dweeb anyway, she would thank him one day.

Emily swivelled on her heel, grabbed Aaron by the ear and dragged him out the back door to where it was quiet.

"Ow!" Aaron said when she finally let go of him. "Was that necessary?!" he said as he rubbed his ear.

"Was you sabotaging my date necessary?! What is your problem?!" she said pushing him.

"Geez, he's the one who left, I was only winding him up a little!" Aaron exclaimed.

"God, you are so immature Aaron, if you ever want to make it in Washington you're going to need to wise the hell up!"

"And if you're ever going to make it in Washington, you're going to want someone by your side who pushes you to be the best version of yourself, to reach for your goals and more, not some boring ass financier who would probably be ok with you sitting around and doing nothing all day." Aaron challenged.

"I never said I was planning on marrying the guy, I just needed someone to bring home for my brother's wedding, and he's a family friend who my mom likes!" Emily blurted out, instantly regretting it.

Aaron stopped and took a step back as a small smile graced his face. "Hold on… you went on a date with the guy… just so you could bring him to your brother's wedding?"

Emily crossed her arms and sighed; "… maybe."

"You went on a date with the most boring guy in the world, because your mother approves of him?" Aaron asked to clarify some more.

"I was just trying to get her off my back, but now I don't have a date and she won't stop hounding me!" Emily said as she placed her hand on her forehead.

"Your mom sounds fun." Aaron joked.

"She is the exact opposite of fun. I am the only one of my siblings who doesn't have a significant other. Two of my three older brothers are married and the third is getting married, I just… I needed her to stop for one day." Emily confessed as Aaron saw her frustration and dropped his smile.

"Take me" he suggested.

"What?"

"Take me to the wedding, parents love me!" he said happily.

"No way in hell."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!"

"I don't think I'll be able to pretend to like you for a whole weekend." Emily said.

"I don't know, you might surprise yourself." He replied with a smirk. "Come on, I'm sorry that I ruined your date, let me make it up to you."

"This is your idea of making it up to me?" Emily asked raising an eyebrow.

"Best I can do on such short notice. When and where is the wedding?"

"Next Saturday in Hartford." Emily told him.

"Oh yeah I forgot you were a rich kid."

"No… my grandparents are rich, my parents just like to pretend they are." Emily clarified. "The wedding is at my grandparent's house, all outside, they've got heated tents or something, I don't know why they didn't just have it inside. My brother's fiancée is a little insane, which is strange considering he's the most normal out of everyone…" Emily rambled, causing Aaron to smile.

"It's a date. Are we driving?"

"Yeah I'm going down on the Friday night"

"I think you mean _we're_ going down on the Friday night." He corrected.

"… why are you doing this?"

"Because you are a friend in need."

"… friend?" Emily said scrunching up her face.

"… frenemy?"

"Better."

"So, what do you say frenemy? You'll let me help you?" he said holding out his hand.

Emily contemplated his offer. She did need a date and he would get her mother off her back, plus her family would love him. He was a card holding democrat just like her grandparents and he was charming and handsome. It appeared like a win-win situation. If she could stick him for a whole day without wanting to throttle him.

"… fine. You can help me." She said shaking his hand.

"Glad to be of service. Now let's get you a drink" he said as he pulled her inside.

* * *

The Friday before the wedding came around before Aaron and Emily knew it and they had begun their journey to Hartford, hoping to arrive just after dinner. They had made a few stops to get food, but most of the journey involved Emily making sure Aaron knew everything he needed to know about her family and about her.

"Ok, we're 10 minutes out from Hartford, let's go through my family one more time…" Emily said.

"Emily come on, I know everything!"

"Just do it." Emily said firmly.

Aaron sighed as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. "First, there's your dad's parents Grandma and Grandpa Rhodes. Your grandpa was a criminal prosecutor for a high-end firm in Hartford, 'Rhodes, Ryans & Fletcher', and your grandma taught philosophy at Yale. They are both card holding democrats like myself."

"Ok good, next." Emily said, not skipping a beat.

"Your parents. John and Karen Rhodes. Your dad is a doctor and your mom is a nurse. Your dad loves golf and your mom loves to bake. You also have a dog, Max, who you're convinced your parents love more than you and your brothers." Aaron said.

"Yeah, you'll understand when you see them with him… ok next."

"Eldest brother, Peter, married to Susie they have a son, Adam. Peter is a dentist, Susie is a kindergarten teacher, they're boring so avoid long conversations with them on my own."

"It's for your own sanity. Next."

"Next brother is Harry. He's married to Louise, he's the most protective of your brothers and will probably grill me, but to avoid grilling, I'll talk about football because he was also a quarterback and almost went pro before he decided to go into law and he now works at your grandad's firm with Louise."

"And finally…"

"Your brother Sam. He's the one getting married tomorrow to Rebecca. You're closest to him out of all your brothers and he's a photographer, travels the world. Rebecca writes, he takes the pictures. He's a lot of fun and I'll get on well with him." Aaron rhymed off.

"Good, you listened"

"I told you…" he mumbled under his breath.

Emily rolled her eyes; "Are you sure you don't want to tell me anything else about you? You practically know my life story but you've been mum about your life…"

"All you need to know is that I grew up in a small town in Texas, I have a brother called AJ and I want to go into politics as an adviser." Aaron said with certainty.

"… Why are you so quiet about your life before Washington?" Emily asked.

"Because it's not relevant to where I am now" Aaron said with a shrug.

"It's all relevant." Emily told him.

"It's just not important Emily" He said a little harshly and Emily knew that she should back off.

As he was about to apologise, Emily began directing him to her grandparent's house. They pulled into the long drive and Emily instructed him to pull into the garage because the drive would need to be clear for people arriving tomorrow. They got out of the car and Aaron stood and stared at the mansion in front of him.

"So, you have been going on at me ever since we met about living in nice places, but this is your grandparent's house?" Aaron asked.

Emily shrugged; "I don't live here" she simply said as she walked into the house with Aaron on her tail.

They walked through the front door and Aaron looked all around him. From the winding staircase to the chandelier, this place was fit for a king.

"Your grandpa's a lawyer, right?"

"Yeah, my grandma came from old money too" Emily told him.

"Well that explains it…" Aaron mumbled.

"Mom? Dad?" Emily shouted through the house.

They heard a voice telling them to come into the kitchen and so they followed it, opening the double doors leading into the dining room, revealing Emily's entire family, clearing up after dinner and sipping on wine.

"Emily!" They all erupted happily as they walked forward to hug her.

When they all finally let go, Emily took the opportunity to introduce Aaron.

"Everyone, this is Aaron Shore a… friend… from college." Emily introduced as her mother immediately pounced on him.

"Oh, Aaron it is so wonderful to meet you!" Karen Rhodes greeted as she pulled him into a hug. "Emily told us that she was bringing someone but I never expected him to be so handsome." She said with a loud laugh.

"Oh, don't mind her Aaron, it's nice to meet you, I'm John, Emily's dad." John said shaking his hand, then introducing all the other members of Emily's family.

After complimenting Emily's grandparents on their beautiful home, Emily's brother Harry was straight in with the questioning.

"So, Em, is Aaron here your boyfriend?" he asked causing everyone to fall into silence and look at the pair.

Emily gulped, unsure how to approach this. By saying no, her mother would be disappointed and hound her about him for the rest of the weekend, questioning why she even brought him here in the first place then, if she said yes, well… that was a lie and Aaron might freak out.

"Well, I… I uh… we-" Emily rambled out before Aaron interrupted her.

"I think you could call us a couple, right Em?" Aaron said putting his arm around her as Emily looked up at him in shock. "No point keeping it a secret anymore."

Everyone stared at the pair for a few moments, before they all erupted in cheers, hugging the pair and telling them how wonderful it was.

"They don't even know me and they think I'm the best thing since sliced bread." Aaron mumbled into Emily's ear.

"Just go with it"

"Oh Emily, I'm so happy for you!" Karen said, kissing Emily on the cheek. "Not only is he handsome but he is no doubt going to be on the fast track to something great in politics! Especially if he's the card holding democrat you say he is." Karen said with a wink.

"Oh well that's Aaron!" Emily said awkwardly.

Immediately, Emily's brothers pulled Aaron out of the kitchen and into the living area to talk football while Emily stayed behind to clear up the dishes with her mom.

"So… Aaron is wonderful" Karen said as she passed Emily the dishes to dry.

"You've known him for 5 minutes" Emily said with a laugh.

"I know but… there was just something in the way that he looked at you… I just knew…"

"Knew what exactly…?"

"That he was the one for you!" Karen exclaimed as Emily gulped.

"Oh… I don't know about that, we haven't been together for very long…" Emily rambled.

"Oh don't be silly Emily. It's in the eyes, I would know, your dad has been giving me those googley eyes for years." Karen said with a giggle.

Emily just nodded and laughed lightly. Aaron didn't look at her with googley eyes. She would have noticed… right?

A few hours later after a family game of charades that ended in Harry and Sam wrestling and Karen scolding them for not acting like grown-ups, Emily and Aaron finally made it upstairs. Emily immediately climbed under the covers without taking her clothes off while Aaron collapsed on his back beside her.

"My family is exhausting." Emily mumbled into her pillow.

"Yeah they really are…" Aaron said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry you had to endure that… and that you have the endure them tomorrow too… you'll be ok on Sunday, they'll all be too hung over to bother you." Emily said as Aaron smirked.

"Don't be sorry I had fun today… you're really lucky Emily, having a family like that. I know they drive you crazy but I would have killed for that growing up." Aaron said as he quickly looked up at the ceiling. "You asked me why I don't talk about my family… I don't talk about them because, it was just me and my mom and my brother and a few aunts and cousins. We lived in a small town in Texas and we didn't have much in life. My dad was an asshole who just packed up and left and my mother cared more about making sure AJ got somewhere in life than me. We didn't have fun family nights like that, I got everywhere on my own. Honestly, Warner and George are more my family than my mom and AJ. I don't talk about them because it makes me mad and I don't want where I come from to define me." He confessed as Emily propped her head up to look at Aaron.

She was seeing him in an entirely different light right now. He had come from very little and had set up a wonderful life for himself that would no doubt get even better. He was able to come here and show Emily to appreciate everything she had, even when her family drove her crazy. She was so lucky to have them.

"… then don't let it define you Aaron. You were clearly made for bigger and better things than them." Emily told him quietly as he smiled lightly.

"You too minor leaguer… you too."

* * *

The following day the wedding went off without a hitch and Emily sat laughing at her parents as she saw they were on the fast track to being drunk. She had on a light blue dress that came out at the waist, stopping at her knee and she had her hair pinned back with short, curled pieces falling down her face. She looked effortlessly pretty and Aaron Shore knew it as he watched her from across the room.

He set his drink down and walked over to her, holding out his hand.

"You want to dance?" he asked.

Emily smiled softly and took his hand as he pulled her into his arms. His hand lay softly along the small of her back while the other held her hand to the side. She had her free arm hooked around his shoulder, falling just under his neck.

"I didn't know you could dance." Emily said.

"Just another one of my many talents" He teased as Emily rolled her eyes.

"I think your arrogance is going to cause my eyes to be forever rolling."

Aaron chuckled as they fell into a comfortable silence. "You look beautiful today by the way"

"…thank you. I guess you don't clean up too bad yourself…" she said.

"It really pained you to say that, didn't it?" he asked with a smile.

"Just a little…" she confessed, but returned his smile.

"I had a nice time this weekend, thank you for bringing me."

"Thank you for practically forcing me to bring you" she replied.

"My god you are infuriating!" he said throwing his head back. "You always have something to say back and it's always mean."

"I think it's my default setting when it comes to you. But… I am grateful that you're here. You really got my parents off my back."

"Glad I could help… so huh… I figured now would be as good a time as any to tell you this but uh… I'm graduating a year early." Aaron blurted out.

Emily raised her eyebrows; "oh really? That's… awesome."

"Yeah I took some fast track classes last year so next semester I'm doing an internship for the governor of New York and then hopefully staying on there for a while when I finish." Aaron explained.

"You really are going on to bigger and better things huh? Taking American politics by storm…"

"Yeah I'm pretty lucky. When I first came here for high school, I had every intention of starting in the mail room and working my way up but uh… when Warner and George have the connections that they have…"

"You'd be an idiot not to take them." Emily finished for him. "I'm happy for you Aaron, you really deserve this"

"Thanks…. Maybe one day you'll make it out of the minor leagues and I'll be seeing you in the White House. I think you'd make an excellent adviser to me as chief of staff." Aaron joked.

Emily playfully glared; "Try the other way round."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to dance.

"You think this is going to be our life now?" Aaron said quietly into her ear.

"What do you mean?"

"We meet every couple of years, drive each other crazy then go our separate ways?" Aaron asked, seeing a recurring pattern.

"Maybe… but it's probably for the best, I would end up killing you."

"Yeah especially with those pranks, next thing I know you'll be freezing _me_ and not just my underwear… but it's time to mature up. The real world is coming at us full force." Aaron said.

"Yeah… but I think we'll be just fine."

"Yeah… I know we will."

* * *

 **Don't forget to review!**


	3. The Working World

**Circles**

After his year in New York, Aaron had kept to his word and worked for the governor for another 6 years. He loved it there, New York had a real buzz about it, but he knew his heart lay in Washington and he was excited to get back there. The Secretary of State had been looking for a chief of staff and Aaron was quick to jump at the prospect. He went for an interview, and he got the job with plans to move to Washington within the next week. Everything had been falling into place with his career, but he couldn't help but feel like something was missing.

He arrived back to his perfectly kept apartment in New York late one evening and instantly threw his stuff down and collapsed on the bed without even changing. He managed to close his eyes for a total of 5 minutes before his phone started to buzz. He groaned, knowing that it was probably work calling him in for a situation that could be easily handled without him.

To his surprise, the caller i.d revealed that it wasn't in fact work. He sighed and answered the phone.

"It's 1am. You better have an excellent reason for calling me Warner." Aaron said as he ran a hand over his face.

"I'm getting married!" Warner blurted out as Aaron immediately shot up.

"… you're kidding. Vivienne actually said yes?" Aaron asked, never thinking Warner would ever settle down.

"Hey, don't sound so surprised." Warner said glaring down the phone. "I asked her tonight and I just couldn't wait to tell you man, she actually said yes!"

Aaron laughed; "I'm really happy for you man, this is great news, congratulations."

"Thanks Aaron. I take it that means you'll be my best man?"

"Seriously?"

"Well yeah man, you're my best friend and do you not remember the deal we made when were 15?"

Aaron chuckled; "Of course I would be your best man, you would be George's and George would be mine."

"Yeah and we are sticking to that. Though, George wants in on the bachelor party planning." Warner informed him.

"I would never plan a party without George." Aaron assured him.

"Great. We'll be getting married in Washington, don't worry you don't have to leave your precious compact city." Warner told him.

"Warner, I would go wherever you wanted me to go."

"You are just the sweetest." Warner mocked. "Listen man I gotta run, Vivienne is finally getting off the phone from all her girls, but we'll be in D.C next week to celebrate with you man and get wedding planning."

"I'll look forward to it. Congrats again Warner, I'm really happy for you guys."

"Thanks buddy, I'll talk to you soon!" Warner said before hanging up.

Aaron smiled down his phone. His best friend was getting married. They had certainly come a long way from the prankster kids they were in high school and the party kids they were in college.

While Aaron had found success in New York and Washington, Emily had found her own success, as minor as it was. After graduating from college, Emily considered doing what Aaron had planned and going to the mail room of the White House and working her way up, but luck was in her favour and she was offered a job as a deputy adviser to the governor if Iowa. It wasn't the most exciting job in the world, but she was able to work at what she loved, and she felt like she could make a difference for people. While things had been going well for her for the past while, like Aaron, she felt like something was missing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what.

After getting a drink with a few of her colleagues, Emily started to make her way home. As soon as she got in her cab and told the driver her address, her phone buzzed and she smiled at the caller I.D.

"Hi Vivienne" she said happily.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" was all she heard down the line as he held the phone away from her ear and the driver chuckled at the scream.

"Uh… you ok there Viv?" she asked.

"I'm getting married!" she said excitedly.

"Oh my god! Warner actually proposed?! And you actually said yes?!" Emily exclaimed, never thinking this pair would settle down.

"Hey, don't sound so surprised." Vivienne said with a pout. "He asked me tonight and I just couldn't wait to tell you guys. This is so wonderful, isn't this so wonderful Em?"

Emily smiled brightly; "This is wonderful Vivienne, I'm so happy for you, congratulations."

"Thank you! I would be even happier if you would be my maid of honour?" Vivienne asked.

"Really?" Emily said as she put her hand on her heart, touched that her friend asked her.

"Yeah, remember the deal we made when we were 15?"

Emily chuckled; "Of course, I'll be your maid of honour, you'll be Lenny's and Lenny will be mine."

Vivienne screeched down the line again as Emily laughed. "This is just so perfect! We're getting married in D.C where it all began and you'll be my maid of honour and Aaron will be Warner's best man."

"Aaron huh? That's a name I haven't heard in a while" Emily said with a soft smile. It had been the guts of 7 years since they last crossed paths, though Emily had heard from Vivienne that he had been doing well in New York.

"Well maybe this wedding will be the perfect opportunity for you two to resolve this whole 'we bicker because we have unresolved sexual tension' thing you've had going on since we were 16…"

"Vivienne!"

"Oh, come it's true, everyone knows it's true…"

"I haven't seen him in 7 years. There is no tension, trust me."

"Yeah how did you tell your mother that he wasn't actually your boyfriend?" Vivienne asked, curious as to how Emily got out of that one.

"I just told her we broke up… somethings aren't meant to be etc. etc." Emily said.

"She was disappointed, wasn't she?"

"I have never seen her more disappointed. I'm pretty sure she's still convinced we're soul mates, she always asks me about him, despite me telling her countless times that we don't talk."

"Yeah I'm totally with Karen on this one. You'll meet someday soon and sparks will fly and all will be well in the universe." Vivienne said dreamily.

Emily chucked; "Ok Viv you can stop with your crazy fantasies now."

"Ok fine… I have to go anyway; my fiancé is waiting for me. Oo, I love saying that. Fiancé!" Vivienne said happily.

Emily laughed; "Go, have a good night, I'll talk to you soon. Congratulations again."

"Thanks Emily. Talk soon!" Vivienne said as she hung up the phone.

Emily sighed with contentment. Her best friend was getting married, and it looked like another one of her brief, yet excited encounters with Aaron Shore was upon her.

Vivienne and Warner had decided that they didn't want to wait long before they got married, so 6 short months later, Emily found herself on a plane from Iowa to Washington for what Vivienne had described as the wedding of the century. As she walked through the airport in Washington, she felt a great sense of calm wash over her. She felt like she was home. She walked out the front door of the airport, ready to get a cab, but stopped in her treks and smirked at the sight in front of her.

Aaron Shore, leaning against his fancy Jeep, arms and ankles crossed, aviator sunglasses, dark wash jeans and a white t-shirt. Looking hot as ever. When he spotted her, he quickly reached over onto the bonnet of the car and lifted a piece of paper.

Emily took off her sunglasses and walked closer so she could read the paper.

 _Minor Leaguer._

Emily rolled her eyes; "Dear God…" she said as she swatted him on the arm.

"Aw I missed you too" Aaron teased.

"Glad to see you're still a wise ass."

"Only with you. How are you Emily?" he asked as he took her bags and put them in the trunk of his car.

"I'm good, I didn't realise you were my chauffeur for the day." She said as he came back and opened the car door for her.

"Vivienne gave me very strict instructions about safely delivering you to her and I would hate to disappoint the bride on her wedding weekend." Aaron said.

Emily nodded; "Especially if the bride is Vivienne…"

A few minutes later the pair were driving through the streets of Washington. Aaron noticed that Emily's face was full of light as they passed through the compact city she loved more than anywhere in the world. He could tell she would give anything to be back here.

"So… how's Iowa?" he asked.

"Iowa is fine… it's not Washington though, but it's a wonderful job and a wonderful opportunity that I couldn't turn down." Emily said.

"Right. You ever see yourself coming back here?"

"Oh yeah. You know it's my favourite place on Earth and working in Washington has always been my goal. What about you Mr 'deputy chief to the secretary of state'. That's a huge deal." Emily said.

"Yeah it's pretty awesome but uh... I've been scouted for another job." He confessed.

"Wait, I thought you'd only been at this job for 6 months?" Emily asked.

"Yeah I have but this job is a bit of a step up."

"What is it?"

"President Richmond and Charles Langdon want me as the deputy chief of staff." Aaron confessed. He hadn't told anyone yet, but he felt like work talk with Emily was a safe space.

"You're kidding. That's amazing Aaron, congratulations""

Aaron smiled; "Yeah nothing's set in stone yet but things are looking good. Richmond's only 6 months into his first term so he's still trying to set things in stone, see whose worth having on the team. They clearly like something about me."

"Yeah clearly… you really are in the major leagues huh?"

"It was always the goal. Come on, we're here." He said as he pulled up to the curve outside Vivienne's town house. Aaron got out of the car while Emily sat back in her seat for a moment. Everyone around her seemed to be going places in life, getting want they wanted. Everyone but her. She knew she was only three years out of college, but she knew what she wanted. She knew she was stubborn and she knew she was impatient, but she didn't know when it would be her time.

As if my magic, her phone buzzed, receiving an email. As she read through its contents she became giddy and excited, hugging her phone to her chest. This was her chance to make a difference. This was her shot.

The wedding had gone beautifully and Vivienne and Warner's friends and families had now gathered for the reception is the fancy hotel Warner's parents had a holding in. Perks of being a rich kid.

Emily had been laughing and giggling on the dance floor all evening with Lenny, and as Lenny spun her around, she laughed her way right into Aaron's arms. As she stumbled on her feet, Aaron held her still. She turned her head slightly and saw Lenny laughing, before giving her the thumbs up and rushing off.

Emily hid her face in embarrassment before saying; "Sorry, we're not the most graceful of dancers..."

"Oh I remember that you were quite the dancer at your brother's wedding… how is your family by the way?" he asked as they naturally formed a dancing position with the other couples around them, exactly like they had danced at Sam's wedding.

"They miss you terribly despite only knowing you for the weekend" Emily said as Aaron chuckled. "They thought you were fun, which is weird seeing as you've stripped yourself of that title now. Warner was telling me you're a bit of a workaholic."

Aaron shrugged; "We've all got to grow up sometime. Though I can't help but be a little stupid around you."

"Yeah I have been told before that I bring out the worst in people" Emily joked.

"So how long are you staying in Washington?" Aaron asked, hoping she would stick around for a while.

"Well… I had been planning on leaving tomorrow, duty calls and all that, but I actually have an interview on Tuesday so it looks like I'll be staying." Emily said.

"Oh really? For who?"

"The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Tom Kirkman, is looking for a new chief of staff. I met him a few times at some political events, he seems like a really great guy with some really great ideas, I would love to help him out, make a difference to someone's life." Emily said.

"Ah… the minor leagues."

Emily stiffened her posture; "Are we really going to go with this crap again?"

"I'm just saying that if you want to get somewhere in Washington, HUD might not be the best place, you'd probably be better off working for the governor." Aaron said harshly.

"We all have to start somewhere Aaron, you said yourself you were prepared to work in the mailroom, but thank God you had some rich friends with connections." Emily said raising her voice slightly, drawing the attention of some people around her.

"Emily come on that's not fair."

"No Aaron!" She said breaking away from his hold. She soon realised that people were staring, including Vivienne, Warner, Lenny and George, so she quickly departed from the room, but Aaron was hot on her tails.

As she got into the hallway, she kept walking, not wanting to look back for a minute.

"Emily, wait!" she heard Aaron shout as he burst through the doors.

"Leave me the hell alone Aaron"

"Why are you so mad?"

"Are you kidding me right now? I get that you're in this amazing job and you're about to get an ever better one with Richmond, but not all of us can have things handed to us straight away, not all of us can have the opportunities that you have had. HUD or the governor of Iowa may be the minor leagues but I am not a minor leaguer, I am here to make a difference and I will do that. God, I just don't understand why you insist on thinking that I can't do this!"

"That is not what I said." Aaron said firmly.

Emily sighed; "You know what Aaron… just forget it. I'm not going to do this anymore, I'm not going to think that we're having this nice time together that we're having fun and then you just shooting me down. I let it slide for years, but we're grown-ups now I'm not some kid with big dreams, my dreams are becoming a reality and I'm just… I'm not going to do it anymore."

At that, Emily turned and walked away quickly and this time, Aaron did not follow. He screwed up, he took the minor leaguer crap too far. He let his ego get in the way and he was letting his pride get in the way now. He didn't feel like partying anymore, but instead, walked off in the opposite direction.

Back at the reception, Vivienne, Warner, George and Lenny were all sitting around the table, waiting for their two friends to arrive back in the room, but there was no sign of them.

"What do you think happened?" Lenny asked as she tapped her fingers anxiously at the table.

"I don't know but Emily looked pretty mad" George piped in, grabbing a champagne flute from the waiter.

"Then my guess is Aaron made some pig headed, egotistical comment" Vivienne said through her teeth.

"Come on Viv, we don't know that for sure." Warner said, not wanting his friend to get berated.

"Warner, you know what Aaron had gotten like since he got to the White House, he thinks he's king ding now! The weekend, he finally loosened up a little bit with Emily, she is the one person that he has been able to do that with, even after 7 years and then suddenly, she gets mad and storms out? Looks like she got a glimpse of the new Aaron." Vivienne said, leaning back in her chair, feeling defeated for her friend.

"You know I was convinced those two would get together." George commented to which Lenny nodded in agreement; "but it looks like fate had other plans."

"I still think they're going to get together." Warner said as the other three looked at him with scrunched up faces. "I know it seems ridiculous now but people fight! It's normal. They'll be on speaking terms before we know it and then bam, they're the most loved up pair we know." Warner defended.

"I hope you're right Warner. I really do." Vivienne said with a sigh, not liking how things were right now.

The thing that annoyed Emily and Aaron's friends about them the most was their stubbornness. They both refused to give into things and it usually worked in their favour. But this time, they were maddening.

Emily was still mad at Aaron and Aaron was mad at Emily for being mad at him and his pride was getting in his way of reaching out to her. He knew that he had no right to be mad, but when it came to Emily, he felt like his judgement was always clouded. She got inside his head. He was normally so together and so collected, and he hated to admit that she had some sort of hold over him.

The next time they saw each other was when Warner and Vivienne forced them into the same room as each other for their baby shower. They had come back from their honeymoon with a little wedding surprise. As unexpected as the pregnancy as, they were over the moon and had named Emily and Aaron as godparents. As frustrated as they were about sharing this role, they were willing to put their difference aside, but only for their godchild.

Lenny and Emily had thrown the most beautiful baby shower for the happy couple and after asking many times whether it was necessary to invite Aaron, Emily finally gave in, getting fed up with the response of; _'Yes Emily he's the godfather, how many freakin times do I have to tell you this.'_

So here they were, 8 months after the wedding, trying to avoid each other in a room full of people. They had been doing well so far, with only a couple of instances of awkward eye contact. The party had been spread throughout Vivienne and Warner's town house, so it was easy enough to keep their distance.

Emily made her way over to the food table to pick up some nibbles. She piled her plate high, hoping to not have to come back seeing as Aaron was in the far corner.

"Oh my god these salmon puffs are incredible." She heard a voice say beside her as she turned her head to see a blonde girl she hadn't seen before.

"I can give you the caterers number if you want, they own a little café down town." Emily offered the stranger.

"That would be amazing, thank you!" she said happily. "Did you organise all of this?" the girl asked.

Emily smiled; "Yeah me and my friend Lenny pulled it all together."

"It's seriously beautiful."

"Thanks… I'm Emily by the way" Emily said holding out he hand as the girl shook it.

"I'm Caroline" she responded.

"I take it you're a friend of Vivienne and Warner's?" Emily asked.

"Oh no actually, I'm here in a plus one situation. I told him he didn't have to bring me but he was really insistent on it…" Caroline said with a laugh; "but I'm glad I did, I've had fun and was introduced to these salmon puffs." She joked.

Emily smiled; "Who are you here with?"

"Aaron Shore? He's the godfather, he went to school with Warner and Vivienne."

"Yeah, I know Aaron, I also went to school with him. I'm godmother to the baby so…"

"Oh my gosh I should have put two and two together!" Caroline said looking embarrassed. "Aaron said that the godmother was called Emily and when you said you organised the party it should have clicked, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, really, no big deal" Emily said feeling bad that she had embarrassed the girl. "How long have you and Aaron been together?"

"Only about 2 months but it's been awesome, he's a really good guy… I suppose you know Aaron pretty well then if you went to school together." Caroline said.

"Uh yeah pretty well… we kind of tormented each other with practical jokes and what not and… we didn't always see eye to eye. Still don't…" Emily said honestly.

"Huh… I can't imagine Aaron playing practical jokes, he seems too devoted to his job." Caroline responded.

"He's done a bit of maturing over the past few years so he is a bit of a workaholic."

"If you don't mind me asking… why didn't you always see eye to eye?" Caroline asked cautiously.

Emily gulped. She didn't want to stand here and talk crap about Aaron to a girl she barely knew, but she also wasn't about to lie to her. She had to find a happy medium.

"It was mainly work stuff. We both work in politics and he used to joke about me not being good enough for the big leagues but it's no big deal…" Emily said trying to brush it off.

"You're kidding? That's horrible, I'm sorry…"

"Oh no please don't be sorry, it's just stupid Aaron and Emily stuff, we're probably always going to have our differences." Emily said, starting to feel bad about things, but then again, it wasn't her fault that Aaron had said that stuff.

"Right…" Caroline said quietly with a sombre face. She never expected something like that from Aaron, he had always been so encouraging towards her.

"Hey, Em" Lenny said poking her head around the corner, "Vivienne and Warner want you for photos."

Emily nodded her head and turned back to Caroline. "Look… love in Washington doesn't happen very often, you should hold onto it as best you can."

At that, she walked away, not before seeing Aaron peering over at the pair with a concerned look. She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen and soon felt a tall figure on her tail.

"What did you say to Caroline?" Aaron asked and Emily didn't bother to turn around.

"Oh, hello to you to Aaron, it's been what? 8 months since you last made me feel crap about myself, thank you for the apology by the way it was nice of you to put your pride aside for once in your life… oh… wait… that's not right…" Emily said sarcastically as she furrowed her eyebrow and Aaron rolled his eyes.

He held her arm and spun her around, forcing her to look at him; "Cut the crap Emily, what did you say to her?"

"She asked me about going to school with you and I said we didn't always see eye to eye and she asked me why and I told her the truth." Emily said.

"God Emily why can't you just keep your nose out of things?" Aaron said, frustrated. "I call you a minor leaguer and you go and screw up my relationship?"

"Get over yourself Aaron, anything that goes wrong in your relationship is on you, stop blaming other people for what you do wrong." Emily said quickly pushing past him and walking into the kitchen.

"Oh good there you are! Where's Aaron?" Vivienne said looking around her.

"Aaron is here" Aaron said walking into the room.

"Ok, I want a godparent photo." Vivienne said, summoning Aaron and Emily over. They stood and posed beside Warner and Vivienne and then just Vivienne and then just themselves and everyone could feel the tension in the room. They quickly wrapped things up before Emily and Aaron found something to bicker about and as Aaron walked away, Emily grabbed his arm.

"I didn't try to sabotage your relationship Aaron. I told her the truth because I am not a liar, but I also told her that love in Washington doesn't happen very often and when it does, it's pretty damn special so… she should hold onto that." Emily said as Aaron didn't respond and allowed Emily to walk out of his life for what felt like the hundredth time.


End file.
